Ohrid and the lake of the same name are situated in the south west of Macedonia and the ‘pearl’ of all Macedonian towns has a long and colourful history. It became the centre of Orthodox Christianity in the Balkans and a large number of churches and monasteries were built.

The Sveta Bogorodica Perivlepta Church is situated on a hill in the old town and missionaries Kliment and Naum came to Ohrid in 885 A.D. Kliment became bishop of Ohrid and founded the first Slav academy.

Next to the church is Ohrid’s famous icon gallery that contains exhibits from the 11th to the 19th century including valuable images of Saint Kliment and Saint Naum.

The splendour of the frescos makes it easy to understand why this area has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This treasure trove of Byzantine art and architecture is the birthplace of Slav Christianity.

The churches and monasteries of Ohrid look like something straight out of a fairy tale kingdom yet they are the original witnesses of Orthodox Christianity in the Balkans.